Sunday, February 28, 2010

Today, Alexys and I are going to see the play Willy Wonka. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was one of my favorite movies when I was young, so I might be a touch more excited to see the play then she will be!

I think the story is great. Young Charlie comes from a low income family, where they sleep four in a bed, and gets to go on an incredible jouney through the chocolate factory after winning a golden ticket by buying one chocolate bar. Although, Charlie and his grandpa are the poorest of the group going on the tour, they end up being the most normal or have the most smarts as they are the only ones to make it to the end.

This movie has great lessons to teach kids. It teaches them anything from learning how to follow directions, seeing how kids that are less fortunate live, and to work hard saving your money to get what you really want.

I hope Alexys will enjoy the play as much as I will. Stay tuned for an update.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

It's that time of year for me to be finding that perfect intern to work with me for the summer. This is no easy task, as I need an intern who is reliable, organized, self motivated and has a good head on their shoulders. I was blessed to have Melissa Miller from Brandon, FL work for me last year, and I must say...she left BIG shoes to fill. I almost feel sorry for Mel because every time I see her I ask her if she wants to come back. Great help is sometimes hard to find.

February 1 was the deadline for this year and I had 19 candidates apply. I had a great group of kids, so I phone interviewed 7 of them. Whew! That took a while!! However, I also see applying for jobs as a learning process so I enjoying giving qualified applicants the opportunity to interview. Don't worry the individual who called me Mr. Ruff and the one who said she had Woo! (whatever that is) for a strength didn't get phone interviews!

After tough deliberation in my head, I narrowed down the selection from 7 to 2. Now, I get to meet them face to face to discuss their qualifications for the internship position. Another key item to find out besides being a good match for the position, is trying to figure out if they will get along with the 12 junior board members. As not only will they be working closely with me, they will be working with the 12 college age juniors who plan and execute our junior shows and events.

I have the first candidate coming in tomorrow and the other one next week so I hope to be able to make the big announcement on next Friday of who my intern will be!

Friday, February 19, 2010

Monday, was Alexys and I's first match party. For a minimal fee, BB/BS had us set up at the ice arena for an hour of ice skating and a hot dog supper. I haven't been ice skating for over a year so I was worried that I was going to look like a fool and fall down numerous times. Although, once I touched the ice I new I still had it in me. Alexys hasn't been ice skating for awhile either, but by the end of the evening she was skating all by herself!

We skated for about 40 minutes and then it was time for supper and to meet the other matches. Shelia has always talked about how great the matches were paired up and so much alike, so I was excited to meet and see everyone. As we were sitting at the table eating and filling out surveys all the littles were pretty quiet besides...MINE!! Of course, chatter box was talking about everything from boys to her Sponge Bob teeth! I was a little worried, because I thought I must be that person that talks all the time!! Yikes!

The night turned out to be a great night. However, we weren't able to build relationships with other pairs, I did feel like one of the 'cooler' big's as there was only two of us who were skating. While the other bigs were watching their littles from the sidelines, Alexys and I were practicing our Olympic moves!!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

We found the dress!! During our trek through David's Bridal in Kansas City we found the perfect dress for Raena to get married in. No, I can't put up any photos of Raena in 'the dress' because we don't want Michael to see what it looks like. We have to keep something a surprise!!

Raena did a great job of shopping around on the Internet prior to getting there, so she knew exactly what dresses she wanted to try on. However, every new dress she tried on she liked even better. We thought it was going to be a tough decision for her, but then she put on 'the dress' and fell in love. It's the perfect dress to get married in in Las Vegas!

Here is Raena in one of the dresses...but it's not the one!!

(Sorry Raena, I'm not sure what you are doing with you arms.)

I love watching people make complete fools out of themselves, and in David's Bridal we saw what you call one of those Bridezillas! She had all of our her bridesmaids there and was trying to figure out their dresses. She wanted them to put on the exact color and style of the dress, but if you ever went shopping for bridesmaid dresses you know they don't have every color and every style in every size. She was just not having it and was yelling quite a few curse words at her bridesmaids!

She also had this really cute flower girl trying on dresses. She was the only happy one in the group. I thought she was so dang cute so I had to take a video of her. Here it is below.

The flower girl had a brother who was jealous that he didn't have on a dress so they found one for him!! His shirt underneath said 'I get my muscles from my daddy' but I'm not sure daddy is going to be proud of him wearing a bridesmaid dress around the store.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

I couldn't ask for a better way to be spending a Saturday afternoon than shopping for a wedding dress with my BFF Raena! That's right, Raena is tying the knot on July 29, 2010 in Las Vegas!! Yay!! I'm looking forward to this afternoon to spend at David's Bridal going through dresses trying to find that perfect one!!

Raena grew up 10 minutes from me and was neighbors to my grandparents and cousins, but we never became friends until we were roommates at college. Everyone said its tough to live with your best friend in college, but it was some of the best years of my life!!

Don't worry, I'll try to snap some photos today of her in those big pretty dresses and I will try to post them. Also, stay tuned this summer as I will post photos of the wedding in Vegas.

Friday, February 12, 2010

So, one of the best things about St. Joseph nightlife is the band Dolewite. The first time I heard Dolewite was at the First Ward House and I was wondering why everyone was packing in the place to hear a bunch of white boys in track suits jump up and down! However, I figured it had to be something good because I haven't seen that many normal people out on the town in St. Joseph before. So, we decided to stick around and we loved it!!

The fan club for Dolewite is incredible. I would consider them an old school hip hop cover band that sing songs from the 80s and 90s. They hardly ever have any new songs but people still enjoy going to their concerts due to them being great entertainers and its always great to listen to stuff that isn't on the radio!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

My little sister, Alexys, has a crush on a young man in her class named Carson. I love hearing stories about Carson and how she thinks he is the cutest guy in class. She has mentioned his name a few times, and then just smiles and giggles when we talk about it him. However, when your 8 its okay if your best friend Haley has a crush on him as well. (I hate to tell her this...but she will lose friends over this when she gets older!)

Yesterday, when we were talking about Carson she informed me that he likes her too. She was the happiest person alive. So, we went on to discuss how she found out that he likes her. Of course, I tried the adult way first of did you tell him you liked him at recess....and she goes "oh no, I wrote it on a piece of paper!!" It kills me that when we are young liking someone is sent on a piece of paper that says Do you like me? Check Yes or No. The boy or girl then returns the paper with their answered circle and bam you have your answer! I wonder why it can't be this easy as an adult?!?!

Often, as adults we tend to have a crush or like someone but its not as easy as writing it on a sheet of paper and then wait patiently for them to return it with their answer. I wish it could be this easy, but now it takes time to think about what you are going to say to them, and then try and interpret the response. I also feel as if girls over think this entirely way too much!

I want to wish all of my single friends, a Happy National Singles Awareness Day and all my friends in a relationship, a Happy Valentine's Day. For my single friends that are depressed about the holiday, feel free to head to KC for some bonding time with your fellow single friend! It would be great to have the company!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

As I look for Valentine's day crafts to do with Alexys tonight, I thought I would pass on a few of my favorites for you to do for your significant other or to do with kids for their friends. I thought these are great ideas.

Blast-Off Rocket Candy

Lightweight colored paper for the body and the flame (we used a 3 1/4-inch square for the body and a 3-inch orange square for the flame)

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Today, I'm travelling to Lincoln, NE to watch the K-State Wildcats take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers in a game of basketball. Currently, K-State is ranked #10 with a 17-4 record and this is the best they have been in a LONG time. It's funny, as I never paid attention to the basketball team while I attended school.

I'm going with one of my besties, Ms. Stacy Mayo. Stacy lives in Naperville, IL, or a suburb of Chicago, so I don't get to see her often. Stacy is travelling in the NE/IA area for work, and decided that we need to go to the game together. I think it was a great idea! I'm looking forward to spending time with her while cheering on the wildcats. Go Cats!

About Me

I grew up in a small town in southwest Kansas with my family. I graduated from Kansas State University with a Bachelors in Agribusiness in May 2007. I currently work for the American Angus Association as the Director of Junior Activities.

Ms. Alexys Knerr

Words of Wisdom: 8 year old style

Below are words of wisdom from my little sister Alexys. I volunteer for the organization Big Brothers/Big Sisters and every week Alexys and I spend an evening/afternoon together. Here are a few tidbits of information she informs me with each week.

- Pizza tastes better when you eat it with your hands, not a fork.

-Boys who don't shave their armpits are gross.

-If they (ta tas) itch, that means they are growing!

-Grandmas that don't have grandpas are sad.

- We look way cooler in this car!

- Only famous people ride in limos.

- I'm not an animal....I'm a citizen!!

- When it rains, the angels are crying.

More to come......

Crazy things I've done with Alexys

I will be the first to admit...I get embarrassed easily. I often care too much about what people think, so I try to keep a good reputation as a young professional. Here I would like to admit some of the silly or crazy things I did as a big sister with Alexys. Yes, she pretty much has me wrapped around her little finger.

- Wore a Burger King crown while eating our supper in Burger King.

- Laughed hysterically at the movie Alvin and the Chipmunks in the movie theater. I also sang "All the Single Ladies" in a chipmunk voice.